Nirmala Sitharaman invites French companies to invest in Make in India

During her interaction with the top leaders of the French defence industry, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman urges them to expand their defence manufacturing in India under the Make in India initiative.

The minister who was on a two day visit for the first India-France Ministerial level annual defence dialogue with her counterpart, the Minister for the Armed Forces, Ms Florence Parly, asked the local industry there to promote defence technology and R&D cooperation with Indian stakeholders such as Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Goa Shipyard Limited, Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited etc.

Sitharaman also interacted with CEOs of French defence industry and visited a defence manufacturing site.

At the defence dialogue in Paris, the two ministers comprehensively reviewed the entire gamut of the bilateral defence cooperation, which is a key pillar of the India-France Strategic Partnership. They also exchanged views on contemporary regional & international developments of mutual interest.

Both sides discussed ways to deepen defence related official as well as operational level interactions. It was agreed to expand the scope and complexity of the regular joint exercises (SHAKTI, VARUNA and GARUDA) in the future.

Recognising that India-France partnership in the Indian Ocean Region is important for preserving and promoting the common strategic and security interests, the Ministers noted the continuing implementation of the “Joint Strategic Vision of India France Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region”.

During the visit, she also addressed a select audience on ‘India-France Defence Engagement in a Multi-polar World’ at the L’Institut de recherche stratégique de l’École Militaire (IRSEM)[French Military College’s Institute for Strategic Research], a well-known think-tank for military and strategic affairs based in Paris.

Before departing for India, she called on Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Oct 12 and discussed issues of bilateral cooperation.